A walk to the post office.

Not much to update since my last post.

I asked to stay at Fieldbase as much as possible for this final phase. My work got a bit disorientated last phase, so I really want to spend this phase being the best Communications Officer I can be, and that means being here to edit and upload blogs and photos, manage messages coming in on the blogs, and to get cracking on the end-of-expedition e-magazine.

I also need to be applying for jobs, and that requires internet, which you don't get on project. I also really don't want to have to tell anybody coming to me with potential work that I won't have internet access for two weeks. No way José.

The downside of this is that Fieldbase just isn't very exciting. I've already talked about it here. That's kind of the extent of it. There's nothing really more of interest to say or photograph. Since my last post, I really have just been doing work, doing my bit of Fieldbase chores like cooking and cleaning, and applying for jobs.

Oh, and watching films. We watched Kung Fu Panda the other night. Even when she's just voicing an animated snake, Lucy Liu is still hot.

Animated snake voiced by Lucy Liu.

Lucy Liu. Still hot.

We also watched Bring It On, which was fantastic! Teen movie clichés, social stereotyping, Kirsten Dunst and Eliza Dushku as cheerleaders, and loads more cheerleaders! What's not to love!? Spirit fingers yo!

Kirsten Dunst as cheerleader.

Eliza Dushku as cheerleader.

Loads more cheerleaders! I know, some of them are dudes. It's not perfect.

I did get myself a Costa Rican football shirt. It's a little thing I have, that wherever I travel to, I get their national football shirt. I'd really struggled with Costa Rica. They didn't have them in any of the sports stores in San José when I was there. They have plenty of fake ones, but I haven't come all this way to do things half-assed. With them in the World Cup this summer, I strongly suspected they'd be available at some stage, and I was really hoping it wouldn't be after I left. The marketer in me said "It would be pretty stupid to leave it much later for cashing in on this", but the marketer in me is also aware of some pretty god-awful marketing. I spotted it in the supermarket, waiting in the queue at the check out. It looked official in terms of branding and that, but I couldn't quite believe it was just there in the supermarket. I went back to Fieldbase, double checked it on the interwebs, and went back later to get it. It cost the equivalent of about £20. You wouldn't get an official football shirt in the UK or Ireland for £20. I think it looks good.

I look forward to wearing this in a Brummie pub on 24 June.

I was on radio duty a couple of nights ago. Yup, demo o'clock. I've been getting frustrated with the concept of organised fun, so I worked out my frustration the way I know how. If you go to this song on SoundCloud you can read my full blown rant regarding the matter. Here's the tune.



I wandered up to the post office today to see if there was any post for anybody. Our post office is the one in CATIE's buildings. I don't normally take photos of walks to post offices, but this walk to the post office is something special.

Inside the building at CATIE where the post office lives. Click for a small album.

Tomorrow I'm going on a very short road trip to drop one of the pups off at a trek group.

That's kind of it really. Three weeks today I'll be on my way back to Birmingham. Three weeks tomorrow I'll be in Birmingham, hiding in my man-cave, wandering around and sporadically sitting down, looking at stuff, trying to arrange the return of my guitars, probably writing about my feelings and stuff on this little old blog.

You remember the ending of Lost, and Jack asking his dad something about if the time on the island was real? I imagine I'll be asking myself that of my time in Costa Rica. Even now, it's hard to believe it's been over 11 weeks since I came here and that I've only got three weeks left. It's a bit surreal.

I can't stop thinking about getting back home. I think it's from a combination of applying for jobs and wanting to turn the dodgy phone demos I've been recording while I've been on radio duty into full proper songs with the lads. The job applications have been pretty fruitless, unfortunately. I've started putting together an online portfolio of my corporate communications work. Hopefully that'll help. All I can do is keep applying.

That's about it for now. I'm actually going to try and get to bed early tonight.

Pura Vida!